


The End of the World

by evansrogerskitten



Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Marvel, Steve Rogers - Fandom, Stucky - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Canon timeline divergence, F/M, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, Infinity War, M/M, Poly Relationship, Spoilers, ending of infinity war, everybody is super upset, nightmares and dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 17:56:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16023020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evansrogerskitten/pseuds/evansrogerskitten
Summary: Following the battle in Wakanda, Steve Rogers and Superhero!Reader (known as “Ice”) face the loss of their teammate and lover, Bucky Barnes.





	The End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> For Kari’s 1K MCU Challenge. Prompt is in bold. 
> 
> This starts at the end of Infinity War. I haven’t written Marvel in over a year so this was a nice challenge.

They say that when you dream, you’re processing what's happened to you, the day to day stuff. Nightmares, those are the dreams facing your fears and anxieties. As a superhero, you’d had your fair share of bad dreams, of anxiety fueled fear in the dark of night. But this war before you was your living nightmare.

“Steve!” you screamed as you ran into the brush, blasting branches out of your way as you scanned the trees. “Bucky!”

You’d been fighting alongside both men just twenty minutes before and then lost sight of them as what can only be described as snarling space dogs tackled each of you to the ground. The battlefield was complete chaos. You kept fighting, knowing your loves wouldn’t go down without you. They knew you were strong enough to hold your own, your powers making you as strong as they were. They’d find you when this was over.

But then people, super and human alike, started falling apart around you. Bodies dissolving into ash and floating away, the pieces of warriors you knew and fought alongside drifting into the grass, into the trees, and over the bodies of dead space monsters.

“Bucky! Steve!” you yelled as you rang through the thicket into the forest. Your pale blue skin shivered as fear settled deep in your stomach. “Where are you?”

You slowed as you reached a clearing. You recognized the red armor of the Hulk’s suit and the bulky dark gray form of War Machine next to him. Okoye was closest to you. As you pushed through the trees you found half of the team standing there, looking as stunned and lost as you felt. With panicked eyes you searched, trying to find the two people that mattered most to you. You watched as the realization flashed across Steve’s face.

“Oh god.”

He pushed himself to his feet, leaving a body behind- oh _no_ , Vision- and stopped to stare at the ground. By the broken devastation on his face, you knew.

No. _NO._ Your scream came out in a silent flash of frozen air as you rushed to him, falling to your knees when you saw the pile of ash at his feet.

‘“Bucky!” you cried. Steve placed a gloved hand on your shoulder and you took it, holding on as you closed your eyes tight. This was definitely a nightmare, had to be. “It’s not him.”

Steve’s squeeze of your shoulder said more than he could aloud. It was Bucky, who belonged with you and Steve. The Bucky you’d fallen in love with in Germany two years before. The Bucky that Steve had loved for almost a century. Your skin started to chill, freezing as you patted the ground, the ash becoming slivers of ice.

Steve cleared his throat to hide the aching crack he’d never let the others hear.“I saw him, Ice. I couldn’t...I watched him fall.”

Tears froze on your cheek as your superhuman biology took over. Tiny typhoons of ice began to circle out of your palms as the rest of the team began to take inventory, asking each other quietly who was left. You knew most of these people well, having fought alongside them since the invasion of New York. But this, whatever this nightmare was, was shaking the core strength of each of you.

“We should go inside, make a plan,” Thor muttered to Steve as the rest of the team began to search through the grasses, looking for survivors. “We need to figure out what to do.”

Steve nodded at his divine friend and then gripped your shoulder as if he was steadying himself too. “Ice, let’s go inside.”

You shook your head, not ready to leave Bucky. You could never leave Bucky; he would never leave you. Steve’s hand melted the frozen tears on your face as he tilted your chin up.

“Come inside,” your captain ordered gently.

You stood and started to wipe your dirty hands off on your Stark designed insulated suit but cried out when you saw the ash. The ash of your love all over your hands. Steve covered your gloves with his own, pressing the remainder of the lover you shared onto his uniform so that neither of you had to physically wipe him away.

“We can’t just leave them out here.” You looked up at your leader.

“What, ya wanna vacuum ‘em all up?” a snarky voice asked behind you.

You glared and spun around, a typhoon of ice pushing Steve and Thor back a few feet.“Who the hell...what is a raccoon doing here?”

“Don’t call me a raccoon!” the animal hybrid snarled.

“That’s what you are!” You scowled and looked up at Thor. “Why is this talking raccoon being such an asshole?”

Thor pointed a crazy looking ax towards the animal and smiled. “Oh yes, this is my new friend Rabbit. He is the Captain of the Galaxy Morons.”

“Who?”

Steve shook his head, his hands releasing the remaining ash as he dropped them to his sides. You watched as Bucky’s ashes floated away.

“Come on.”

The Wakandan palace was in pandemonium. Okoye was crying silently, holding Shuri as she sobbed “Brother!” over and over. Rhodey helped Okoye calm Shuri down once she confirmed the queen was gone too. An hour of debate and fear evolved into a manic discussion as loud superhero voices raised over each other.

“We should call Tony.”

“No one knows where Tony is.”

“What about Ross?”

“Seriously?”

**“Yeah, well we don’t have any better ideas.”**

**“Well that’s inspirational.”**

“Hey, where’s Fury?”

“He hasn’t been answering my calls for years.”

“Maybe the wizards can help.”

“There are wizards now on Earth?”

“Stop!” you screamed. The glass surrounding the rotunda froze instantly before bursting into a thousand pieces and raining down. Everyone covered their heads to protect themselves from the frozen daggers, and looked up in surprise and fear as you shivered, icicles forming on your fingernails as you tried to control your power during this stressful time.

“We’re gonna take a break.” Steve grabbed your frozen hand in his gloved one, pulling you into his embrace to lead you down the hallway. You looked back and caught Natasha’s eye. She nodded at you once before she was out of view. They would figure this out. They had to.

Bucky was gone.

Again.

You entered the bedroom that T’Challa had offered to you, Steve, and Bucky earlier in the day. You hadn’t even had time to kiss Bucky hello, just quick hugs when you got off the Quinjet. You hadn’t had time alone just the three of you since you’d been to visit a month before.

You slunk onto the bed, watching your hands warm to their normal color. Steve pushed a lock of your hair back and you looked up at him.

“Ice, we’re gonna find him. We’re going to-”

“How?” you interrupted. “How Steve? Cuz as far as we know half the universe is dead, we have no idea how to or if we can save all those people and I didn’t even see Thanos, I don’t know if we can kill him…”

“I saw him.” Steve sat down on the bed next to you. He pulled his gloves off finger by finger before tossing them aside. You both saw the dirt on the palms, and you couldn’t help but think part of it was still Bucky. “He was too strong for me.”

You leaned your head on Steve’s shoulder, realizing you had been so consumed by your own anguish that you hadn’t thought of how Steve must feel. He’d lost his best friend, partner, and lover just as you had. He wasn’t Captain America anymore, but that mantle would never truly fall from his shoulders. He still felt the responsibility of that role, even when he was just sweet, affectionate Steve holding you and Bucky in bed late at night.

Your tears froze as they trickled down your cheeks again. You were so strong, but so lost now. None of the Avengers could help you except Steve and you had to be strong for him as well.

“I haven’t cried for him since 1945.” His voice was flat. “I don’t know if I can stop if I start now.”

You didn’t reply but instead crawled into his arms, feeling warmer and letting your powerful instincts retreat as you reached almost human temperature. For over an hour you and Steve sat there cuddled together, finding comfort as you listened to each other breathe.

You started to drift off, not knowing if dreams or nightmares awaited you in your sleep. Steve’s lips were warm on your forehead as he covered you up with a blanket before he slipped out of the room.

You looked up when Bucky and Steve walked into the bedroom.

“Hey, look who I found.” Steve grinned as he slung an arm around Bucky’s shoulders. “Told him our girl was missin’ him.”

“Buck?” you asked, confused but also thrilled to see him.

“Gonna sleep all day, doll?” Bucky asked, a smirk on his face, “I can think of some better things to do now that I got you two all to myself.”

“You’re here?” you asked, pushing back the blanket and sitting up.

Bucky leapt onto the bed, the mattress bouncing under his weight. “Think you could leave me behind after we saved the world, did ya?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Never leave you. C’mere.”

You held your hands out for both men, tugging them onto the bed. Bucky sunk into the mattress next to you and nuzzled his scruffy face into your shoulder. You giggled as Steve crawled up the bed and leaned over you both, his wide shoulders caging you underneath him. Slow kisses traded between you and Bucky, Bucky and Steve, Steve and you, until the three of you were wrapped around each other. Your moans answered Bucky’s teases and Steve’s quiet murmurs. It was perfect. So many nights you’d found yourself like this- under the stars, at the compound, in a hideout, even once at a fancy hotel. The three of you not only desperately in love, but committed partners side by side as you tried to save the world one day at a time.

“I love you.” You set one hand on Bucky’s cheek and the other on Steve’s. “You’re my everything.”

“Same, doll.” Bucky nodded, glancing up at Steve. “I love you both very much.”

You closed your eyes to his kiss as Steve hummed in agreement. He wrapped his arms around your waist, his hand smoothing through Bucky’s hair, and then the three of you slept.

“Ice.”

“Y/N.”

You groaned as someone’s voice pulled you from Steve and Bucky’s arms.

“Come on, love.” Steve’s hand gently shook your shoulder.

You stirred, opening your eyes to look up at Steve. “What?”

“You’ve been asleep all day and night.”

Your skin instantly froze as the grief weighed down again. It was real, it wasn’t a good dream. You looked into Steve’s eyes and saw it there. Bucky was still gone.

Steve set his bare hand on your warm cheek. He was wearing street clothes now, his Nomad suit tucked away somewhere. You looked down to find he’d pulled off your suit as well and dressed you in one of his t-shirts.

“Love, we found Tony.”

You scrambled out of the bed, whipping his shirt off as you searched for your bag and some clothes to wear. “Where? How? What’d he say?”

Steve smiled, as much as he could in the situation as you crawled around the bedroom floor in the Wakandan palace in just your panties. You tugged on clothes, not caring what you looked like as you listened.

“He said there’s a way. There’s a way to get them all back.”

You stopped and stared at him, a flurry of snowflakes slowly drifting around you peacefully. “This is real.”

“It’s real. We’re gonna get him back. I promise you that.”

The corner of your mouth tipped up, the first time you’d smiled since you’d seen Bucky what seemed like years ago but was only two days.

“Let’s go get him.” Steve took your warm hand as he lead you out to the Quinjet. The nightmare was real. But together you’d find your love and save the world. Side by side.

For Bucky.


End file.
